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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. mark — a grade
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pop — soda
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mark — a trace
  22. pop — music
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com